The field of youth development sits at the frontier of new opportunities for research and practice. Likewise, sustainability of development has remained an area of interest and attracted debates among academia. In advanced economies, development has been successfully sustained over a long period of time but has proofed difficult in developing economies. Though different strategies to empower youths have been put in place in Nigeria, the resulting effects are not sustainable with the rate of poverty and unemployment still on the high side. Thus, there is the need to review the application of sustainable development concepts and its practicability in Nigeria. This paper is an attempt in this direction. To this end, this study reviews youth empowerment programme in Nigeria with the view to identifying the challenges militating against its success and proffer solutions. Primary data was collected through personal telephone interview with the commissioners of industries, commerce and trade in twenty-two states (out of 36 states) in Nigeria and secondary information was extensively gathered through research reports and academic publications. Analysis of data collected was done in frequencies and percentages. The paper found that youth empowerment is hinged on the fact that more than half of the Nigerian population is youth, about 70% of the population are poor with more than 29.5 per cent unemployed. Youth empowerment programmes were coordinated through Federal Ministry of Youth Development in Nigeria.